Chicago artist and experimental filmmaker Millie Goldsholl passed away yesterday at 92 years old. Her films are among our favorites here at CFA. An early student of the Chicago School of Design (now IIT), Millie created films that are expressions of Maholy Nagy’s vision of industry, art and design. They are playful, human and profound all at once. The same thing, of course, can be said of Millie. We are so honored and feel richer that her films are among our collections.
Here is Millie talking about the School of Design (taken from a 2007 interview between Millie and CFA’s Executive Director, Nancy Watrous).
And here are a few of our favorite films of Millie’s (all found in CFA’s Mort & Millie Goldsholl Collection):
UP IS DOWN (1969)
A short animated film that presents a study of an unconventional young boy who is temporarily persuaded to accept others’ viewpoints as his own.
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INTERGALACTIC ZOO (1960s)
Dedicated to the men, women and children of Mars, this fantastical animation uses the simplest of elements: solid backgrounds, block letters, and a length of metal chain. The creatures created are the kind of strange and other-worldly beings that thrive only in children’s dreams and play.
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Karolton Envelope “ENVELOPE JIVE” (1963)
A sponsored film made by Mort & Millie Goldsholl (of Chicago’s Morton Goldsholl Associates) for Karolton Envelope Company, a division of Kimberly-Clark. Morton & Millie Goldsholl ran Morton Goldsholl Associates, one of Chicago’s leading graphic design studios in the 1950s. The studio became recognized for their animations, progressive hiring practices and developing corporate branding packages for various companies.